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Two works of Christ in Acts 1-12, final

The ninth chapter of Acts tells how Saul was converted while he was traveling to Damascus to arrest Christians. In Acts 9:32 the focus turns toward Peter, giving an account of a few miracles that he performed.

The tenth and eleventh chapters give a lengthy account of Peter’s trip to Caesarea to preach to the Roman centurion named Cornelius and his friends from the Italian cohort (Acts 10:1). He discovered that the Holy Spirit came upon them in the same manner as upon the Jews. This story should be viewed as an extension of the previous story where Philip moved to Caesarea (Acts 8:40). Therefore, it prophesies of the word of God making inroads among the Romans—that is, the fourth kingdom of Daniel 7.

This gives us the same message as seen in the book of Jonah, where the king himself repented (Jonah 3:6). We should then expect to see some world leaders repenting and assisting us in building the Kingdom in our time.

James and Peter

The twelfth chapter of Acts gives us our final example of the two works of Christ in the New Testament. In this case, James the apostle (John’s brother) represented the first work of Christ, while Peter represented the second work of Christ. Acts 12:1 says,

¹ Now about that time Herod the king laid hands on some who belonged to the church in order to mistreat them. ² And he had James the brother of John put to death with a sword. ³ When he saw that it pleased the Jews, he proceeded to arrest Peter also. Now it was during the days of Unleavened Bread [i.e., the week after Passover]. ⁴ When he had seized him, he put him in prison, delivering him to four squads of soldiers to guard him, intending after the Passover to bring him out before the people.

The king was Herod Agrippa, the grandson of Herod the Great, who slaughtered the children of Bethlehem. History tells us that he died suddenly in 44 A.D. at the age of 54. We must also distinguish this Herod from Herod Antipas ("the tetrarch"), the son of Herod the Great, who executed John the Baptist about 30 years later.

James had just returned from Spain, where he had been doing mission work. Herod executed him at the time of Passover and then arrested Peter as well. It appears that James was executed on the 14^th day of the first month, the same day that Jesus was crucified in an earlier year. Peter was arrested either on the day of Passover or some time during the week of Unleavened Bread, so Herod did not want to execute him immediately.

We are then shown how God delivered Peter. Many have wondered why God did not deliver James as well. The answer lies in the fact that James was identifying with Christ in His first work, which was a death work. Peter, representing the second work of Christ, could not be killed. Instead, God released him into the open field (as the second dove in Leviticus 14:7).

After going to the house where the disciples were meeting to notify them that he was alive and free, Peter fled to Caesarea (Acts 12:19), the Roman city on the coast, where he would be out of Herod’s jurisdiction. Caesarea, then, serves as a prophetic type of the “open field,” that is, the world. From there, Peter took a ship to Rome itself, where he preached the word.

Peter’s Release

Acts 12:6-8 says,

⁶ On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. ⁷ And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared, and a light shone in the cell, and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly!” And his chains fell off his hands. ⁸ And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”

If Peter was arrested on the day of Passover, then the angel may have released him that same night. Yet it seems more likely that Peter spent a few days in prison. It is plausible that the angel released him in the early morning hours of the wave-sheaf offering, thereby following the pattern of Jesus’ resurrection. Peter was sleeping in his cell, picturing the dead in a tomb. The light that the angel brought is probably what was seen when Jesus Himself was raised from the dead.

While walking out of the prison, Peter thought he was seeing a vision. But after the angel disappeared, he realized that this was really happening. Acts 12:12 says,

¹² And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying.

Acts 12:18, 19 concludes,

¹⁸ Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter. ¹⁹ When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he [Herod] went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.

Herod apparently heard that Peter had fled to Caesarea and went there to try to extradite him. No doubt Peter spent time with Philip whose house was to become not only a church (later pastored by Zaccheus) but also an inn for traveling Christians. In fact, Peter and other Christians were under the protection of Cornelius.

The Death of Herod

Acts 12:21-23 says,

²¹ On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them. ²² The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man.” ²³ And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died.

Herod Agrippa died in 44 A.D., so the incident with James and Peter occurred shortly before this. My study tells me that it occurred in 42 A.D. Prophetically speaking, Herod represents those rulers of the end-time beast nation that refuses to repent. These try to persecute the overcomers at the end of the age, but in their pride they die at the hand of the angel.

Acts 12:24, 25 concludes,

²⁴ But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied. ²⁵ And Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem [to Antioch] when they had fulfilled their mission, taking along with them John, who was also called Mark.

Barnabas and Saul had been entrusted with contributions to be sent to the believers in Jerusalem (Acts 11:29, 30). It is likely that they stayed at the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, and were witnesses to James’ execution and to Peter’s deliverance. When they returned to Antioch, Barnabas and Saul (now known as Paul) began their first missionary journey. However, this is the end of the prophetic types of the two works of Christ in the book of Acts.